Spoilers: Too many to list for L&O,
L&O: SVU and the Magnetic Resistance
universe.

Rating: M

Warning: For references to rape, although
nothing graphic. Also, beware of run-on sentences and spelling
errors. I posted this in a hurry and I'm going to a flute recital,
so I didn't have time to double-check. I'll do it later or
something.

...

The Interview:

...

"How bad do we need this confession?"

Detective Olivia Benson shrugged as she studied her old friend.
Abbie had taken the red-eye from Washington to New York City three
days earlier than planned, and she looked as tired as Olivia felt.
Although the details weren't anything out of the ordinary for SVU,
this case had taken an immense toll on Olivia emotionally and
physically. She could tell that Abbie felt the same weight on her
shoulders.

"Without it, we can't go to trial," the detective admitted.
"Morally, I don't feel that I can continue to handle this case. I'm
too emotionally invested in putting Underwood away." She had warred
with herself over the decision for twelve hours, but knew that
handing Charles Underwood over to Munch and Fin was the right thing
to do. Her personal code of honor would not allow her to do
anything less. However, that didn't mean she couldn't have some
personal satisfaction first. "I'm giving it to the boys after this
interview."

Abbie nodded stiffly. She understood, and was grateful for
everything Olivia had done. "Liv, get your fiancée on the
phone for me, please. I need to talk to her before I start. Then
bring Elliot, Munch, and Fin over here, set up the recording
equipment, and send me in to the lion's den."

"You're sure this is legal?" Olivia asked. "You're not
officially involved in this case at all. In fact, you're..." She
couldn't finish her thought. Olivia was absolutely itching to give
Abbie just five minutes in the interview room with Underwood, but
she didn't want to do anything to sabotage their case against
him.

"Yeah," said Abbie. "If he agrees to see me against the advice
of his lawyer, there's no reason I can't talk to him for you and
get a confession. You definitely haven't had any luck so far,
Hutch."

Olivia gave Abbie a small smile. "I'll go tell Starsky he's
needed in the observation room." Looking down, she noticed that
Abbie's hands were pale and shaking slightly. The attorney looked
down too, and once she noticed the unwanted bodily reaction, she
placed her hands on her knees to steady them. "Here," Olivia said,
reaching into her purse and pulling out her cell phone. She hit
speed dial two and passed it over to Abbie. "You can use my phone
to call Alex."

"No need." The two women looked up to see a pair of familiar
blondes approaching Olivia's desk with purpose in their strides.
Abbie and Olivia stood up to greet them, opening their arms. "We're
already here," said Alex Cabot, leaning first into Olivia's
embrace, then Abbie's. Alex gave her best friend an extra squeeze,
bussing her cheek with a kiss.

"Hey, can I have one of those?" Olivia pouted, sticking out her
lower lip. The arrival of her lover was like the light from a
candle, breaking up the congealing patches of darkness. Alex gave
Olivia a kiss too, and let the detective wrap a possessive arm
around her waist.

"How are you doing, love?" asked Serena Southerlyn, content to
hang back as Alex surged forward. She knew better than most that
her friend was an unstoppable force. Serena was the quieter of the
two, but no less stubborn when she felt that her territory was
being threatened. When she saw Abbie's body language relax in
response to her voice, she took it as an invitation to come forward
and hug the Federal Prosecutor tight.

Abbie rested her chin on Serena's head. "Howdy, pretty lady,"
she said, sounding calmer than she felt. "About the same as you, I
expect."

Serena was touched by the acknowledgement of her feelings, but
that was typical Abbie. Behind all the bluster, her girl was a big
softie with a heart of gold. She always thought about other people
first. "I got a strange call from Cabot over there, who told me
that a certain detective was sticking her nose in your business. We
decided to come over."

"She was just doin' her job, Ser," Abbie protested. "And I
shoulda known you two were in cahoots. You're always plotting
somethin'." She paused, pulling just enough out of Serena's embrace
to look down into her eyes. "Olivia needs a confession. She's gonna
let me go and talk to him."

"Well, that'll cause the prosecutor a headache," said Alex.
"Well, it's Hardwicke's problem now. She must be more lenient than
me, because there's no way I'd let you jeopardize my case with a
shaky interview, legal or not." For a moment, Abbie looked hurt,
but she calmed down when Alex added, "of course, as your friend,
I'm obligated to tell you to go in there and kick his
ass."

Abbie stepped back, letting go of Serena and perching on
Olivia's desk. On an ordinary day, Alex might have complained that
the Federal Prosecutor was in her spot, but she let it slide this
time. "I need to talk to all of you before I go in there," Abbie
said. She looked at each of their faces to make sure that they were
listening. "I'm going to say some things that aren't true, things
you might not like, and I want you to know that I have nothing but
love and respect for all three of you. Will you let me do this my
way?"

"Do whatever you need to do, Cowgirl," said Olivia. "Cragen says
this is a go. If it rattles his cage, you can tell him little green
men are crawling out his ass."

Alex and Serena didn't say anything, but they gave their silent
approval. "Okay," Abbie said, clapping her hands together once and
straightening up. "Go and get our boys, Liv, and when Underwood's
lawyer gets here, make sure Alex and Serena are the ones to escort
him into the interview room. I'll wait three minutes, and then all
hell will break loose."

...

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Elliot asked, giving his
partner a skeptical look. "I know Carmichael's a ball-buster, but
this could end up exploding in our faces at trial." He, Olivia,
Munch, Fin, and Hardwicke were clustered in the observation room,
watching Charlie Underwood as he sat and stared at the opposite
wall. With his handsome face and expensive clothes, he looked more
like a lawyer than one of SVU's suspects. In fact, he was a lawyer
with a degree from Texas A&M, but the detectives were
experienced enough to know that appearances made no difference.
Evil sometimes came wrapped in attractive packages.

Olivia paused for a moment, considering her answer. To be
honest, she had her doubts, but she was the one who suggested the
idea to Cragen, Abbie, and the rest of the squad in the first
place, and it was too late to back out now.

"I agree," Gillian Hardwicke added before Olivia could respond.
"Bringing a civilian in to a private interrogation is highly
irregular. The admissibility of the confession could be called into
question..."

"Do you want a confession or not?" Olivia snapped, slightly
offended, "and Abbie's not a civilian. Not only is she a Federal
Prosecutor, she was our ADA at SVU for a while. She knows how these
guys operate. Even more importantly, she's my friend, and I know
she can do this."

The door to the observation room opened and three people stepped
inside. Alex, Abbie, and Serena - the last three members of their
hastily gathered team. Everyone else turned to watch them enter the
room. Not bothering to close the door behind her, Alex gave
Hardwicke a cold smile. Abbie and Serena shared a nervous glance
behind her back. Their thoughts were identical - this might get
messy.

"If you don't think you're capable of defending this confession
in chambers, Counselor, I can give you a get-out-of-jail-free
card... If, for some inexplicable reason, dropping Abigail
Carmichael's name doesn't get your confession admitted into
evidence, just tell the judge that Alexandra Cabot would consider
it a personal favor."

Alex eyed her replacement with boredom and a touch of
barely-concealed resentment. Even though her relationship with
Olivia and the Velez shooting had taken this job away from her, she
still considered SVU to be her squad, and she was loathe to let
another woman take her place.

Gillian Hardwicke liked to think that she could stand toe to toe
with any attorney in the city, but even she felt tempted to buckle
under the force of Alex Cabot's frosty blue eyes. She shrugged,
trying to look nonchalant. "Detective Benson says that this is the
way to make Underwood crack. I'm prepared to take her
word."

It was the right thing to say. Alex harnessed the intangible
force that she had released into the room, and even Munch and Fin,
who had known her for years, breathed a little
easier.

"Alex, Serena, please show Mr. Buchanan into the interview room
with his client," Abbie said, her voice dangerously soft. "I'm
Captain now, and I don't want a pissing match on my
ship."

Alex rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to argue, but Serena
guided her back out of the door with a firm tug on the wrist.
Inside, she felt like everything was falling to pieces. She wanted
to stand next to Abbie, hold her and not let go, but she knew that
she could help her lover the most by controlling Alex's
barely-suppressed rage. Gillian wasn't the real target anyway. All
of Alex's hatred was directed at the man they had in
custody.

Olivia sighed, letting her forehead rest against the cool glass
that separated the interview room from the observation room. "Okay.
Abbie, are you sure you're ready to do this?"

"I was born ready," said the Texan, clenching her fists. Instead
of just addressing Olivia, she directed her speech to everyone in
the room. "I know Charlie. I've had years to figure out why he does
what he does. He thinks he's Mr. Perfect, some kind of Adonis that
no woman can resist. When that delusion is challenged, he loses
it." She lowered her eyes, staring steadfastly at the slightly
scuffed toes of her boots. Instead of wearing a power suit like
Alex and Serena, she was dressed in simple jeans and a sweater. "I
can get him to confess. Just wait."

"Hey, we're about to start," said Munch, pointing at the window.
Alex and Serena had opened the door and were escorting a bald but
muscular man into the interrogation room. Picking up on his
partner's cue, Fin bent over the switchboard and turned on the
sound so that they could hear what was being said.

Abbie took a deep breath and waited.

When Alex and Serena entered the room, Charlie Underwood stood
and moved to tip an imaginary hat. "Howdy there," he said. "When
your detective friends brought me in to answer a few questions, I
sure wasn't expectin' a pair of visitors as pretty as you. Tell me,
are all y'all from the DA's office? Now that my lawyer's here, I
wanna get this little mess cleared up so I can head on
home."

"Home is going to be a cell in Rikers," came Alex's clipped,
chilled voice. She wasn't going to give an inch. "I'm afraid we are
only here to show your Counsel the way to the interrogation room."
To everyone else watching, Alex seemed the picture of icy
formality, but Olivia noticed how pale her cheeks were and how her
shoulders tensed with barely suppressed fury. "Goodbye, Mr.
Underwood. I'll see you again at your sentencing."

Olivia let out a quiet sigh of relief. Another moment in there,
and she knew that Alex would have blown a gasket. There would have
been nothing left of Charles Underwood to prosecute. At least that
would have been one solution to their problem...

Serena remained behind, staring down the suspect as he took his
seat. "Aw, now why did your friend leave in such a hurry?" he
drawled, giving her his most charming smile. "We were just gettin'
acquainted."

"Unfortunately, neither of us can legally handle your case,"
said Serena. Compared with Alex, who had done nothing to hide her
anger, Serena seemed almost calm, but Olivia knew it was all an
act. Alex had every right to be furious with Underwood, but Serena
had even more reason to hate him.

"Then why are you here? I doubt it's just my dashing good
looks."

The former ADA froze, staring directly into Charles Underwood's
eyes. "No. I just wanted to see your face," she said, slowly and
deliberately. "I built you up to be some kind of monster. Now I can
see what a sad, pathetic excuse of a man you are."

Mr. Buchanan, his lawyer, walked around to the other side of the
rectangular table and sat beside him. "Thank you for showing me the
way, Ms. Southerlyn," he said, trying to gloss over the
unpleasantness, "I would like a few minutes alone with my client,
please, and tell your detectives to turn off the microphones.
Privilege, you know..."

The blonde gave both of them an insincere smile. "Of course."
Turning around, she left the room and shut the door with a loud
click.

Following Mr. Buchanan's instructions, Munch and Fin switched
off the audio feed from the room.

Abbie waited.

...

Exactly four minutes and fifty seconds later, the door to the
interrogation room opened. When Charles Underwood looked up, he
instantly recognized the heart shaped face, the thin shoulders, the
sleek brown hair and bright eyes. "Abbie! What a pleasant surprise.
I was expectin' a Ms. Gillian Hardwicke, not an old
classmate."

Abbie remained standing, wrapping her hands around the back of
her chair and leaning forwards over the seat. One of them held the
edge of a bound file, which she tapped steadily against the chair
as she smiled wolfishly at the two men. "Oh, she'll be here soon.
Meanwhile, I just thought I'd drop in. See an old friend.
You know how it is. By the way, these are Detectives John Munch and
Odafin Tutuola. They're handling Miranda Leone's case from now on."
She nodded briefly to the two male detectives that were standing in
the back of the room with their arms folded across their chests and
identical stiff, silent expressions on their faces.

"What happened to Detectives Benson and Stabler?" Underwood
asked, looking particularly smug. "Did they finally realize this is
all a mistake?"

"They felt that interviewing you would cause a... conflict of
interest." Carelessly tossing the file onto the table, she allowed
it to fall open, revealing several neatly typed pages. "Speaking of
which, you don't mind taking some time to catch up with an old
friend, do you? I can leave if it would make you feel more
comfortable."

Mr. Buchanan started to protest, but Underwood waved his hand
dismissively. "Naw. We ain't seen each other in, what, twenty five
years?"

"Twenty five years," Abbie agreed, her voice honeyed and her
Texan drawl prominent. "Sure is a long time. But you've been busy."
She shrugged one shoulder at the file.

"Ms. Carmichael, it's illegal for detectives to give you
information about my client or any ongoing investigations..." Mr.
Buchanan started to protest, reaching for the file.

"Tell it to someone who cares," said Abbie, any trace of
sweetness gone. "Besides, this isn't Miranda's file, Mr. Buchanan.
That would be illegal. It's mine."

"Your - what -...?" Mr. Buchanan choked, reaching up to loosen
his stiff collar and necktie, which suddenly felt more constricting
than usual.

While his lawyer sputtered, Charlie remained nonplussed. "Aw,
why'd you hafta go and bring up all that unpleasantness again? The
Dean cleared me and the review board said it was all a
misunderstandin'."

"Of course it was." Abbie turned her chair to the side, sitting
down and crossing her legs at the knee. She turned, leaning one
elbow on the table and staring directly into Underwood's face.
"Just like it was a misunderstanding when the Dean took your
Daddy's money. I never should have spoken to the college
authorities before going directly to the police." Suddenly, she was
all sugar again, bending forward so that her hair brushed playfully
around her cheeks. "It's all right. You did me a favor. After your
miserable performance, my luck turned around." She gave him a
full-lipped smile, narrowing her eyes. "The sex with you was so
terrible that I decided to give the other side a
try."

"We've howdied, but I wouldn't call us friendly," Charlie said
carefully.

"First name's Olivia. And she deserves that 'O' at the beginning
of her name, if you know what I mean." The Federal prosecutor
winked. "The things that woman does with her mouth should be
illegal."

Back in the observation room, the enraptured audience turned to
gawp at Olivia, breaking away from the drama playing out before
them for the first time. The detective shrugged. "Hey, we're
allowed to lie to perps. Why can't she?"

Alex, who had re-entered the room with Serena to watch the
fireworks, put a possessive hand on Olivia's behind, and that was
the end of that. Everyone looked back through the
glass.

"This conversation is entirely irrelevant and inappropriate!"
Buchanan said, regaining his voice. "Since you have a past history
with my client and are not a member of the NYPD, I insist that you
leave immediately!"

To everyone's astonishment, Abbie shrugged, picked up the file,
and slowly headed towards the door. Olivia's jaw nearly hit the
floor and she could feel Alex stiffen beside her, ready to bolt out
of the observation room and beat some sense into their suspect and
his two-faced lawyer.

The audience was treated to a second surprise when Abbie
stopped, turned around, and leaned against the wall beside the
door. Only Serena noticed the tension in her hands as she clutched
the file against her side. She knew just how hard it was for her
lover to obey any command her rapist gave, even if it was one she
wanted to hear.

"You know those two blondes?" Abbie continued in a low purr,
stalking back to the table with a feline, predatory sleekness to
her motions. "ADA Alexandra Cabot. The tall one with the sexy legs
and the sweet ass? Damn, those legs are even better when they're
wrapped around your hips, begging you to go
deeper..."

"Ms. Carmichael, this is entirely inappro-"

"Shut up," Charlie repeated, pushing a hand into his lawyer's
chest. Buchanan tried to say something else, but a glare from his
client made him swallow his words. "Abbie." He didn't say anything
else, just her name.

"But you know which one's my favorite? Serena Southerlyn. Pretty
little thing, ain't she?" Abbie closed her eyes, pretending to lose
herself in some salacious memory. "She's the one that gave me
this." For the first time, Underwood's eyes locked on the ring
adorning the fourth finger of Abbie's left hand. "What can I say? I
like 'em blonde, sexy, and rich."

The vein popping out from Charles Underwood's temple was so
prominent that Fin and Munch could see it from the back of the
room. "You're - with... she..." For the first time, the
smooth-talking Texan was stuttering.

"It's all right. I forgive you for raping me, Charlie. When you
don't have enough... personal charisma to attract women, to make
them want you, what other choice do you have?"

"I do just fine," Underwood said coldly, but he sat forward in
his chair, almost leaning across the table. "You
remember."

Abbie didn't pull back. Instead, she faced him down and laughed.
"Tell that to someone who hasn't seen what's in your pants. I tell
people I was a virgin until my early twenties... not because I'm
ashamed of what you did to me, but because it was just too pathetic
to count. You inspired me to great heights, though... Thinking of
you always reminds me never to leave a woman
unsatisfied."

That was the breaking point. "You asked for it!" Underwood
shouted, standing up and slamming both fists on the tabletop. "You
wanted it. They all wanted it."

"Miranda wanted it?"

"Yes!"

Both detectives surged forward, coordinating their movements
without speaking. Munch grabbed Abbie's arm and pulled her
backwards, careful not to grip too hard, and Fin stood in front of
them like a shield, solid and unmovable. Soon, he and Buchanan were
restraining the frantic man's arms as he tried to claw
forward.

In the interrogation room, everyone was shouting at
once.

"Charlie! Charlie, stop!" Buchanan panted while Fin used much
more colorful language to try and convince Underwood to stop
struggling.

"No, we didn't. Not now. Not ever." For some reason, the power
of her raised voice silenced everyone, even Underwood, who was
still breathing heavily, his eyes boring into Abbie's flesh. She
brushed the stare off. "I hope you enjoy hearing all that played
back in court, Charlie. Then everyone will know how pathetic you
are. Too pitiful to get a girl without force and too stupid to
understand the word 'no'. Guess your family's money and that fancy
law degree are pretty worthless if you can't even understand a
two-letter word or satisfy a woman."

Then, calmly, she allowed Munch to escort her from the room. The
uncontrollable trembling didn't start until she was in the safety
of the hallway. Munch immediately wrapped her in a protective hug,
holding his shaking friend until it was time to hand her off to the
crowd of people that he just knew were running out of the
observation room.

Abbie didn't cry when she saw her friends stampeding around the
corner. She didn't cry when Elliot and Olivia moved to stand
between her and the door, just in case. She didn't cry when Alex
put two steadying hands on each of her shoulders from behind,
proclaiming to everyone within hearing distance that she was a
complete idiot - a brave idiot, but still an idiot. The tears
didn't come until her face was buried in Serena's neck, and she
could hear her lover's voice whispering into her hair. "We got him,
baby."

It only took the Federal Prosecutor a few moments to calm down.
Brushing her cheeks dry with the back of her hand, she looked up at
ADA Hardwicke for confirmation, not bothering to pull out of
Serena's arms or away from Alex's anchoring touch. "It's enough?"
she asked again.

"I swear, I'll fight to admit that confession with everything I
have. If I don't, McCoy will have my resignation." Unlike Abbie,
Gillian Hardwicke couldn't help it when her voice broke. She had
only met Abigail Carmichael once before, and compared with the rest
of the tightly-knit group, she felt like an outsider, but seeing
how much her colleagues cared about this case and this woman lit a
fire in her gut, the same one that had inspired her to become a
prosecutor.

Abbie let out a shaky sigh of relief. Carefully, she peeled away
from her lover and her best friend, standing by herself, although
she remained pressed against Serena's side. "Then I owe all of you
some Tequila and a pot of my Mama's gumbo."

"You got our confession for us," Olivia said, adding her own
presence to the circle surrounding Abbie when it was obvious that
no one was coming through the door, her protective instincts taking
a back seat to her compassionate ones. "We owe you dinner
and drinks at the very least." Abbie accepted her soft touch
without flinching, surprisingly glad to be around so many people.
Despite what she had just gone through and the emotional
vulnerability she had displayed, she felt completely safe. These
were all her friends, and they would do anything for
her.

"Liv, I'm sorry..."

"You have nothing to apologize for."

"They'll have to hear what I said in court..."

Alex interrupted. "If this clusterfuck even makes it to trial,
which I doubt... they wouldn't dare subpoena the four of
us. In fact, I hope they do. I'd love to take the stand or be
interviewed in chambers and rip that weasel and his counsel a new
one."

"It's up to you, honey." Serena kept her arm wrapped around
Abbie's waist from behind, keeping track of her lover's heartbeat
and the tempo of her breathing. "If you want this done quietly,
we'll personally call every judge sitting on the bench. If you want
to show the world what a pathetic excuse for a human being Charles
Underwood is, we'll make it happen."

Abbie sighed. "That's up to Miranda Leone. This is her case, not
mine."

"If he pleads guilty instead of going to trial, I can force him
to confess to your rape on record," Gillian offered. "You deserve
closure."

There was a pause. "That's sweet of you, but I got my closure, even
if it was two decades late." The Texan reached for her
fiancée's hand, automatically feeling for the ring that she
had given Serena less than three weeks ago. The metal and even the
gemstone were warm to the touch. "It's time to move on with my
life. I've got more important things to worry
about."